Clock for automobiles or the like.



H. W. MATALENE. CLOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES 0R THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1911.

Patented .11111211913 COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co..\v1\s|uNG'roN, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY W. MATALENE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES OB- TI-IE LIKE.

To all lwhom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY W. MATA- LENE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clocks for Automobiles or the Like, of which the following is a specificatio-n.

This invention relates to clocks of a character suitable for use on the dash-boards of automobiles or in similar exposed situations, the object of the invention being to provide a form of casing which may be permanently attached to the dash-board of an automobile or the like and in which a clock or watch .movement may be secured in such manner,

with the dial normally exposed to view, that it will be protected from the weather and may be readily manipulated to wind, set or regulate the movement, but from which it will be impossible for the clock or watch proper to be removed without actually breaking some of the parts, except by a person with a clock makers knowledge of the manner in which the parts of the movement are secured in the case which carries them. To this end I have devised certain features rof construction and arrangement which are ,hereinafter described in connection with the yaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete clock; Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the body port-ion of the outer vcasing hereinafter described and the contained part-s, as preferably constructed; and Fig. 3 is a central vertical section from front to back through the frontor outer portion of the clock, drawn on a larger scale.

In Fig 1 of the drawings 2 indicates a .hollow casing which is adapted to be permanently attached to a support 3, which may be the dash-board of an automobile, for example, by suitable means such as a base plate 4c on which the casing 2 is pivotally mounted at its rear, as shown. Within the front portion of said casing is located the time-keeping mechanism, herein illustrated as consisting of a large-size watch movement of the stem winding and setting type, the movement being contained within Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 20, 1911.

Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

Serial No. 650,384.

a watch case 5 which is pivotally mounted within the casing 2 in such manner that it may be turned on its pivotal axis to expose either its front or its back at the front of the casing 2. Said pivotal axis preferably extends horizontally across the center of said casing, and the pivots on which the case 5 is mounted are so constructed and arranged that said case cannot be removed from the casing 2 without first removing the watch movement from the case 5, this being accomplished in the particular construction illustrated by providing the case 5 with diainetrically-opposite pivot pins 6 which extend outward into bearings formed in diametrically-opposite studs 7 carried by the casing 2 upon the interior thereof, at least one of the pins 6 being removably inserted into said case 5 from the inside of the saine, as best shown in Fig. 2. The case 5 also comprises a bezel 8 and a crystal 9 of the usual or any suitable construction, and a back 10 which may be opened to give access to the watch movement and is preferably hinged at its bottom in the usual manner, as shown in Fig. 3. At its top the case 5 is provided with a pendant 11, similar to the usual pendant of a watch case, within which is contained a winding` stem 12, and a sleeve 13, and a crown 14 is attached to the upper end of the stem 12, the construction and arrangement of these parts being substantially the same as in t-he well known form of stem winding and setting watch movement employing the so-called American system of setting, in accordance with which the crown is pulled out-ward when it is desired to bring the parts of the movement into setting relation but is normally located in its innermost position, corresponding to the winding relation o-f said parts.

At the front of the casing 2 is provided a removable cover 15, which is preferably screwed directly onto the exterior of the front edge of the casing, as shown in Fig. 3, and is provided with a central opening containing a crystal 16 held in place by suitable means such as a reflector 17 substantially as in an ordinary watch case, and the parts above described are so proportioned and arranged that when said cover 15 is screwed onto the casing 2 the rear or inner edge of the reflector 17 will bear upon the front face of the watch proper, outside of its dial, and thus hold said watch in a position parallel with the front of casing 2 by preventing it from turning on its pivots. 1n this position of the parts, which is their normal position, they are all held in such relation to one another that the dial of the watch is exposed to view through crystals 9 and 16 and the watch is effectively prevented from damage by exposure to the weather, since it is wholly contained within the tightly-closed chamber provided by the casing 2 and its cover. The watch is also prevented from being removed from the casing by unauthorized persons, since in order to eect such removal without breaking any of the parts, even though the cover 15 has been taken olf, it is necessary to turn the watch on it-s pivotal bearings until its back side is presented at the front of the casing 2, then to open the back 10 of the case 5, then to remove the watch movement entirely from said case 5, and finally to unscrew one or both of the pivot pins 6, a proceeding which cannot be accomplished easily or quickly or by any person not familiar with the construction of the pivotal mounting as well as with the manner of taking a watch movement out of its case. It it is desired to wind or set the watch, it is merely necessary to unscrew t-he cover 15 and then tilt the upper portion of the watch forward until the crown 14; is accessible to be rot-ated and pulled outward if necessary, and if it is desired to regulate the watch it may be given a half rotation on its pivots, thus presenting the back of the case 5 at the front of the casing 2, whereupon the back 10 may be opened to give access to the regulating mechanism.

My invention thus provides a simple, durable and convenient arrangement for utilizing a watch in situations of the character above referred to and for manipulating the same as may be necessary to keep it running and in order, as well as for securing the same against liability of theft or damage, and it will be understood that although the time-keeping mechanism employed is preferably a stem winding and setting watch movement, the invention is not limited to the employment of any particular form or type of time-keeping mechanism, nor to the specific construction and arrangement herein described of the other details of the apparatus.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination with a casing provided with means for permanently attaching the same to a support and having an open front, `of a time-keeping mechanism contained therein adjacent to the front of the casing and mounted on oppositely-disposed pivots, said casing having suliicient depth to permit the time-keeping mechanism to be turned half around o-n said pivots, and a cover forming a closure for the open front of the casing and normally exposing the dial of the time-keeping mechanism to view.

2. The combination with a casing provided with means for permanently attaching the same to asupport and having an open front, of a watch pivotally mounted therein adjacent to t-he front of the casing, said casing being of suflicient depth to permit said watch to be turned half around on its pivots, and a cover forming a closure for the open front of the casing and normally exposing the watch dial to view.

3. The combination with a casing provided with means for permanently attaching the same to a support and having an open front, of a stem-winding and setting watch located therein, adjacent to the front of the casing, and mounted to turn on a pivotal axis extending at right angles to its winding stem, the crown of the watch being located directly beneath a wall of the casing when said watch is in normal position, and a cover forming a closure for the open front of the casing and normally exposing the watch dial to view.

4. The combination with a casing provided with means for permanently attaching the same to a support and having an open front, of a time-keeping mechanism pivotally mounted within the casing, and a cover forming a closure for said casing and arranged to bear upon the time-keeping mechanism and hold the latter in fixed position, with its dial exposed to view through said cover.

5. The combination with an outer casing provided with means for permanently attaching the same to a support and having an open front, of an inner case mounted in said outer casing on pivots which extend outward from the inner case and are inaccessible for removal from the exterior thereof, said outer casing having sufficient depth to permit the inner case to be turned half around on said pivots, a time-keeping movement contained in the inner case and removable only through the back of the same, and a cover forming a closure for the open front of the outer casing and normally exposing the dial of said movement to view.

6. The combination with a casing provided with means for permanently attaching the same to a support and having an open front, of a complete stem winding and setting watch journaled Within the front portion of the casing on oppositely-disposed pivots which are inaccessible for removal until the movement has been removed from the Watch case, said casing having sufsubscribed my name this 18th day of Sepieient deph to permit the Watch to be tember, 1911. turned hai around on said pivots, and a. 1 cover forming a. closure for the open front HENRY W MATALENB' 5 of the casing and normally exposing the Witnesses:

Watch dial to view. MARY A. OBRIEN,

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto HAROLD EVERETT NESBITT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

